Insights / Strategy
Choose Your Poison, I Mean, Err… Channel: Not Every Marketing Channel Is Meant for Every Business
You don't need a billboard if you sell a local service 100 miles away, or Pinterest if you sell ethernet cables. Here's how to pick the few channels that fit your business, and quit the rest without guilt.
By Nick Irmo · November 14, 2026 · 5 min read
Not every marketing channel is meant for every business. You don't need a big, beautiful billboard if you sell a local service 100 miles away. You probably don't need Pinterest if you sell ethernet cables. And if you run a restaurant, you are probably not going to need a box of 1,000 business cards. Yet business owners think they need it all.
Here's the problem with doing it all: it means sacrificing the channel that would work best. Time, money and attention are finite. Every hour spent on the wrong channel is an hour stolen from the right one.
I can't count how many times I've watched owners slave away writing content, or pour money into big video productions, to get a handful of likes. The effort was real. The audience just wasn't there. You need to be intentional, and you need to think about where your audience is and how they engage.
Why do owners think they need every channel?
Because every channel has a salesperson, and every salesperson has a success story. The billboard rep shows you a billboard that worked. The social media guru shows you a viral video. The SEO agency shows you a ranking chart. None of them are lying. They just aren't talking about your business.
- Fear of missing out: a competitor is on TikTok, so you feel you should be too.
- Vanity: a billboard or a slick video feels like a big-business move.
- Default habits: business cards and brochures because that's what businesses do.
- No measurement: without tracking, every channel looks equally promising, or equally useless.
The two questions that pick your channels
Before you spend a dollar or an hour, answer these two questions honestly.
- Where is your audience?. Not where everyone is. Where your buyers are, when they're thinking about what you sell. A homeowner with a broken furnace is on Google, not Instagram. A bride planning a wedding is on Pinterest and Instagram, not LinkedIn.
- How do they engage when they're ready to buy?. Do they search, scroll, ask a friend, ask ChatGPT, walk in, or call? The channel has to match the moment, not just the person.
Channel fit by business type
| Business | Usually worth it | Usually skip (or keep tiny) |
|---|---|---|
| Local service (HVAC, plumbing, roofing) | Google Business Profile, reviews, Local Services Ads, search ads, truck wraps | Pinterest, TikTok dance trends, national billboards |
| Restaurant | Google Business Profile, Instagram, reviews, email or SMS for regulars, delivery apps | Business cards, LinkedIn, long blog posts |
| B2B tech or IT products (yes, ethernet cables) | SEO, product pages, Amazon or distributors, LinkedIn, trade shows, email | Pinterest, TikTok, consumer billboards |
| Professional services (law, tax, CPA) | SEO and AI search, Google Business Profile, referrals, LinkedIn, reviews | Viral video productions, broad social ads |
| Ecommerce and consumer products | Meta and Google Shopping ads, email, influencers, Pinterest for visual categories | Radio in markets you don't ship to, trade shows |
| Wedding, home decor, fashion | Pinterest, Instagram, reviews, SEO | LinkedIn ads, cold email |
| Franchise or multi-location | Local profiles per location, local search ads, a strong website | Separate social accounts for every location you can't keep up |
For a deeper channel-by-channel breakdown, see my earlier piece, Do You Know Your Business?, which walks through ten kinds of companies.
Signs you're on the wrong channel
- You've posted consistently for three months and can't name one lead or sale it produced.
- Your content gets likes from friends, family and other businesses, not buyers.
- You're spending more on production than on getting the content seen.
- You can't measure it, and you can't explain how it would ever lead to a sale.
- You're doing it because a competitor does, not because your customers asked for it.
How to choose your channels in an afternoon
- List your last 20 customers. write down how each one found you. Ask them if you don't know.
- Circle the top two sources. those are your proven channels. Protect and feed them first.
- Pick one test channel. choose where your best customers spend time, based on the two questions above.
- Set a 90-day test with a budget and a number. for example, ten leads at a cost you can afford. Track it.
- Cut or keep at day 90. if it hit the number, scale it. If not, drop it without guilt and test the next one.
Frequently asked questions
How many marketing channels should a small business use?
Usually two or three to start: the channel where customers find you today, one that builds trust (like reviews or email), and one carefully measured test. Add more only when those are working.
Should every business be on social media?
Most businesses should have a basic, accurate presence where customers might check them out. But active posting only makes sense on platforms where your buyers spend time and engage in a way that leads to sales.
Is print marketing dead?
No, but it's specific. Vehicle wraps, signage and targeted direct mail can work well for local businesses. A stack of business cards for a restaurant, not so much.
How do I know which channel works best?
Track where every lead comes from: tracking on your website, call tracking, and simply asking every customer how they heard about you. After 90 days, the answer is usually obvious.
Not sure where your audience is? Take our free marketing maturity scorecard, or book a Numbers Call and we'll look at where your customers actually come from.
